Evening finds me back in the gardens. So much has changed in the last 24 hours, it is almost overwhelming. Thankfully I still had the outdoors to help clear my thoughts. Ever since Caspian led me I have been able to find my way outside with ease.

The stone from today’s lesson is in my pocket, and even now as I grip it I can feel its warmth. It’s presence is comforting, giving me the same safe feeling being outside has.

I wander, letting the cool air and the warmth from the stone calm me. It is only a few minutes later that I happen upon a gazebo. It sits unassuming, in the middle of what appears to be a rose garden. Vines trail up its pillars, spilling onto the roof. I walk toward it, the cold from the bench causing me to shiver.

After a short while footsteps draw my attention from the stars in the sky, and I am met with Caspian slowly approaching.

“What are you doing out here?”

He raises an eyebrow, climbing up the stairs and stopping to stand just barely out of arm's reach. “Am I not allowed to be?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant! Of course you can be here.”

Caspian lets out a laugh. “You aren’t the only one who enjoys the comfort of nature, Princess.”

I stare at him, unsure of how to respond. Flirting has never been my strong suit. In fact I’m not sure if flirting is something I should be doing. Gemma was always the one with a new guy seemingly every month. She could pick up anyone flawlessly. Me, on the other hand, has had exactly one boyfriend fresh out of college. That ended fairly quickly, and cleanly thankfully, and since then I’ve been too busy with work to bother attempting to date.

That doesn’t matter now, though. I don’t have to worry about impressing Caspian too much considering we’re already engaged.

With my thoughts as scrambled as they are I choose to stay quiet, picking at my nails instead. Caspian takes the opportunity to take the seat across from me.

Despite my best efforts to ignore him, I can practically feel his gaze burning a hole in me. Now that he’s here, I want desperately to ask who that woman from the night was. A friend? A lover? Does he regret being engaged to me?

I know, however, that by asking it will betray the fact that I saw them, and I am quite sure I’m not ready for that question.

“Ask, Dove.”

Caspian’s voice startles me, my hands stilling. “W-what do you mean?”

His eyes, which had been staring pointedly at the hands sitting in my lap, meet my own. “You obviously look as if you wish to ask me something. So ask.”

“I…” I falter, clearing my throat. Deciding not to open that can I shake my head. “Do you come to the garden often?”

An amused expression crosses Caspian’s face. “That is not what you wanted to ask.”

“No.”

I offer no other explanation, and whether or not Caspian accepts my answer he says, “I visit here almost every night. I have since I arrived in Sedalia.”

“Have you been here for very long?”

“I arrived perhaps a week or two before you did. I would have greeted you the day you came but something came up that required my full attention.”

“That’s alright!” I quickly shake my head. Meeting Caspian the day I got here would have been too overwhelming. It’s better that everything has played out the way it has. “Where is home, anyway?”

“I am from Eiland.”

“Is it far?”

“About a week via train. It is quite the enjoyable ride.”

“Is it much different from Sedalia?”

If he’s annoyed at my questions he doesn’t show it, resting his chin on the back of his hand. He looks at me, and I immediately drop my gaze. Caspian chuckles lightly. “Eiland is certainly much warmer than it is here.”

As if to accentuate his statement a gust of cold air causes me to shiver, and Caspian stands. “We should head back inside. Can’t risk the Princess getting sick.” I look up into his smiling face before reaching out to take his outstretched hand.

Gemma and I have breakfast at the gazebo the following morning. It is even more beautiful in the early morning, when the sun is just beginning to rise. Gemma, of course, is complaining about being up so early.

“My tutor is coming early today, I told you this. I don’t like being up this early either.”

She simply groans, taking another bite of her croissant. Her eyes are barely open, and if she weren’t eating I’m sure she’d be struggling to hold her head up as well. As it is, she has her cheek resting in one hand, elbow on the table. The croissant sits haphazardly in her other hand. I watch it, waiting to see if it will tumble from her barely there grip to the table. “Couldn’t he come later on tonight? Who wakes up before the sun even wakes up?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I drag my eyes from the bread dangling from her fingers to the pout on her face. “You didn’t have to get up this early Gem. You’re not the one training.”

“And why aren’t I?! What am I supposed to do if there’s an attack on the castle and I can’t protect you?”

I am wholly unprepared for that question. I blink at her a few times. “Pretty sure that’s what the guards are for. And I would expect you to hide, considering you are human and everything else in this world is not.”

Gemma snorts. “I’m going to go ask Rose later about joining your personal guard.”

“You can’t fight, Gem.”

“Then I’ll learn! Won’t catch me being useless in dire situations.” She begins grumbling to herself and I tune her out. I’m used to Gemma’s dramatics, so I’m able to ignore her, focusing on eating my food.

Late morning is when my second tutor arrives at the castle. I’m dressed in simple leggings and a long sleeve shirt and led outside where a very tall Werewolf is waiting. Not quite as tall as Caspian but still much taller than me. He has broad shoulders and his skin is the color of someone who spends a great deal of time in the sun, not much darker than I am.

He runs a hand through his hair - dark and long at the top, pulled into a braided ponytail to show off the undercut. When he finally turns to smile at me I can see his eyes are a pretty dark blue.

“Nice to meet you Princess Pandora! My name is Ronan Pell. I apologize for being late. Something happened in the pack and being Beta means I have to be there to help resolve it.”

“Ah no need to apologize. It’s nice to meet you Ronan.” I quickly curtsy.

Similar to what Rosedriah did yesterday, Ronan wants to see just what I can do before coming up with a training plan. I tell him I’ve always been able to see and smell better than average, and that I’ve never had issues seeing in the dark.

He hums, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “Let’s race.”

I look over at Ronan, who has begun to peel off his shirt. I don’t answer right away, blinking at him. Holy god he has a six pack. I can feel my face grow hot when he rolls his shoulders back. How could this man possibly be so comfortable practically stripping in front of me when we just met not even ten minutes ago?

After tearing my eyes away I say, “race?”

Ronan bounces a bit, his braid swinging with the action. He has a grin stretched across his face. “Yup! I want to see how fast you are and the easiest way is to race you.”

“But you’re a werewolf.”

“Yes.”

“You’re faster than me.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll lose.”

“Aw c’mon Princess. Of course I’m gonna beat you but that don’t mean I can’t see how fast you are in comparison.”

I let out a sigh, pulling my locs into a ponytail. “Was taking off the shirt necessary?”

Ronan’s hands are on his hips as he asks, “Why? Like what you see?”

I can’t help but roll my eyes, turning away from him. It’s mildly annoying not being able to tell if he’s being serious or not, but I ignore his question. “Where are we racing to?”

He hums loudly, hand on his forehead over his eyes as he scans the trees. After a moment he points in a random direction. “You see that tree over there?”

It takes me a moment to be able to see where he’s pointing, having to squint my eyes to be able to make out the giant tree. Eventually I am able to see it, though it has to be at least a dozen yards away. At my nod he bounces again. “Good. We’ll race there and back.”

“All the way there?”

“That’s not too far. Okay ready? Go!” Without waiting for a response Ronan takes off running, forcing me to go after him.

Even without the head start it’s clear Ronan is way faster than me, already headed back towards the castle before I even make it to the tree. He grins at me as he passes me. I frown, speeding up some and making it to the tree and back to the castle in what I feel is record time.

Ronan doesn’t look like he just ran a marathon, grin still on his face while I’m doubled over attempting to catch my breath.

“You’re faster than I thought! With proper training you may even be able to keep up with me one day.”

Before I can retort, movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. I’m surprised to see Caspian strolling towards us, hands in his pockets.

“Caspian!” Ronan’s loud cry startles me. He bounds over to Caspian, lifting him in a giant hug and spinning him around. The scene renders me speechless.

“Put me down, Ronan. How many times do I have to tell you to stop grabbing me like that? I’m not a toy.” Despite the scolding, Caspian has a smile on his face.

“Excuse me.” I finally say. “How do you guys know each other?”

“Cas is my best friend!” Ronan says as he makes his way towards me once more. Caspian readjusts his shirt, gaze fixated on me. I force myself not to shift from it, turning my attention to Ronan instead. “It’s pretty hard to see each other though since I’m always busy with work.” Shirt now back on, Ronan slings his arm around my shoulder. I notice Caspian’s eyes narrow with the action. “Anyway, how do you guys know each other?”

“She is my fiancée.”

“Oh!” Ronan practically flies away from me, hands up in surrender. I let out a quiet laugh at the reaction and Ronan’s distressed expression deepens. “I had no idea!”

Caspian simply waves him off. “I came out here to tell you both dinner is ready. I’ve already informed the staff that you’ll be staying, Ronan. Let’s go.”

We follow Caspian to the kitchen, food already waiting for use on the table. Ronan wastes no time finding his spot, digging into the food before his butt touches the chair. Caspian simply shakes his head, pulling my chair out before taking a seat across from me.

Ronan is rattling off about his pack, Caspian telling him not to talk with his mouth full when the doors open.

“Sorry I’m late Panda! Daphne wanted to show me…” She trails off mid-sentence, her eyes frozen on Ronan.

Ronan also seems to have frozen in place, his fork clattering onto his plate breaking the sudden silence.

Glancing at Caspian, he doesn’t seem to be fazed by the shift in atmosphere at all, calmly eating his meal. Ronan slowly stands, his eyes never leaving Gemma’s as he walks toward her. He takes her face gently in his hands and I watch as my best friend's eyes light up, a smile on her face.

It’s strange. I’ve never seen Gemma so smitten over a guy before, and certainly never this instantaneously. Even Ronan, who I’d only just met, seems to be acting strange. And Caspian, calmly sipping his tea and being so unbothered by the scene only fuels my confusion.

Ronan says something I can’t hear and Gemma nods, smile widening. Her hand now snug in his, he mutters an “I’ll catch up with you guys later” before leading Gemma out of the room, leaving me and Caspian alone.

I stare at the spot they were just standing for a second before turning to Caspian, who has finished his meal.

“Ask, Dove.”

“What the hell was that?”

Caspian chuckles, setting his tea down. “It seems as if Ronan has finally found his mate.”

“Mate? As in soulmate?”

Caspian gives a hum of agreement, tapping my plate. “Finish eating.”

I take a bite of my food, quickly swallowing it so I can ask, “do all werewolves have mates?”

Caspian nods, the amused expression never leaving his face. He looks pointedly at my food so I take a few more bites. “Do you think I have a mate?”

“Are you going to leave me if you do?”

I freeze, looking up at him. “N-no.” I am finally able to spit out as Caspian stands. He smiles at me.

“Good. I’m not partial to sharing.”

“Wha-”

“You do not have enough werewolf blood in you to feel the mate pull. Even if you did, I am not inclined to give you up that easily.” Caspian interrupts. He pats me on the head. “Finish eating, Dove.” He leaves the room before I can say anything in response.